When The New York Times Co., one of the nation’s most storied newspaper enterprises, hired Desiree Dancy last fall into the newly created position of vice president/diversity & inclusion, many people took note. Dancy, who arrived from the investment banking industry, knew that she was expected to point the company toward “some new and exciting things.”
Less than a year into the job, Dancy has done just that. The Times recently launched five affinity groups with the potential to do many beneficial things for employees and company. While many Fortune 500 companies have such employee groups, typically organized around race, gender or sexual orientation, according to Diversity Best Practices, a consulting and research firm, the Times apparently is the first newspaper company to adopt them.
Dancy saw affinity groups up close while working at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. “At their most basic, they create network opportunities for people who might not otherwise get together to celebrate their heritage and uniqueness,” she says. But they also bolster overall company strategy and diversity goals and can help to expand business opportunities. For instance, she says the women’s networking group at Credit Suisse “did a fabulous job of strengthening relationships with clients by holding events that allowed them to more fully engage with clients.”
At the Times, each affinity group – African Heritage, Latino Heritage, Asian Heritage, Women’s Network, and GLBT Allies and Networks – has co-chairs, one from the newsroom and one from the business side, plus a budget and senior-level sponsor. Arthur Sulzberger Jr., company chairman and publisher of The New York Times, sponsors African Heritage, while Scott Heekin-Canedy, the newspaper’s president and general manager, sponsors Asian Heritage. Each group is open to any Times employee in the New York area.
Dancy acknowledges that the “wall that exists between the newsroom and the business side” creates more challenges for affinity groups at media companies. But she can cite one example of bridging the divide. In late September at the annual conference of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, a national organization devoted to GLBT issues, a Times presentation will highlight its coverage of the GLBT community and sponsorship of events. “Affinity groups allow us to build bridges, to market and brand the company in a different way.”
Dancy is heartened by interest shown in the groups and notes that those involved enjoy getting to know each other while learning they have many issues in common. “One of my goals,” she says, “is to encourage people to use each other as resources.”
As talk about diversity wanes at shrinking newspaper companies, except to rue the loss of many veteran people of color, the Times has taken a welcome step forward.
Jeanne Fox-Alston
Vice President, Talent Management and Diversity
Newspaper Association of America
(571) 366-1005; jeanne.foxalston@naa.org